The Introduction to the Crisis

Please Note:

This is a student project created for a United States History class. The posts in this blog are of historical nature about a specific event in U.S. History. This blog deals with the Cuban Missile Crisis. This is not meant to be expert scholarship and there may be errors. This is a first attempt at learning something in more depth. There has been a genuine effort to properly cite all pictures, quotes, information gathered in this research project. For a list of sources see the final blog.

Thank you and enjoy,

Diego Valenzuela

During the early days leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis, high ranking American officials were extremely worried for the future of the United States as well as the futures of their families, friends, and especially for President John F. Kennedy. Within the ranks of these officials, the information about the issue was extremely confidential; however it frightened these men, and they did not know what was in store for America during this conflict against the communist countries of Cuba and the Soviet Union. First, on this date, Congress approved U.S. Joint Resolution 230 which authorized the use of aggressive military force in the country of Cuba if the United States were to be attacked or intimidated by the allied communist forces. The men were on high alert because it was speculated that the communists were nearing a combined offensive against the U.S. and that the use of atomic arms would be available to their disposal. However, President Kennedy and his men believed that America should be careful in utilizing this Joint Resolution because they already failed twice in Cuba at the Bay of Pigs and through Operation Mongoose, misguided attempts at assassinating Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, in early 1961. On discussing the actions taken to overthrow Castro in the Bay of Pigs and Operation Mongoose, John Simkin, an author on the website Spartacus Educational, states that the U.S. government planned to develop “a resistance group with Cuba” (“Bay of Pigs,” par. 6), and to “train a paramilitary force outside Cuba for military action” (“Operation Mongoose,” par. 1). In addition to Joint Resolution 230, the fifteen man board agreed that the Soviets had violated the Monroe Doctrine, which stated that Eastern countries could not interact with countries of Latin America. It was imperative to these men that they kept a close eye on Cuba through the use of several espionage tactics. But, it was an uneasy feeling for these government representatives who believed that all hell could break loose in Cuba.

Actual Blog Date: May 2, 2011

Historical Date: Mid-Sep. 1962

http://havanajournal.com/images/uploads/Bay_of_pigs.jpg